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NEPAL MUST MAKE RISK REDUCTION A PRIORITY

May 11, 2015

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Nepal must make risk reduction a priority8

Replicate Thailand’s street food culture in African cities 4

Rising sea levels force Asia to consider float-ing cities 10

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Thailand street foodculture could work inAfrican cities

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The mouth-watering street food choic-es abundant in Thai cities are a trave-ler’s delight. Samantha Spooner reports for the Mail & Guardian Africa that these affordable noshes also are an economic driver that should be emu-lated by African cities.

Informal commerce in the form of road-side carts and stalls were once thought to be a stepping stone on the path toward economic progress. But many Asian cities are proving that food ki-osks can endure as they develop, and coexist with established businesses while providing a critical outlet for eco-nomic opportunity, the article says.

“Many African cities are well-poised to take lessons from the East’s experi-ences,” Spooner writes. That means encouraging food stalls rather than outlawing them. It also means regulat-ing and licensing them — as Bangkok does — to ensure basic levels of clean-liness and freshness.

Yet in cities in Zambia and Zimbabwe, informal food vendors are officially banned. Many African cities lack food safety guidelines, resulting in unsani-tary conditions the threaten health. In Nairobi and throughout Kenya, vendors often prepare food in filthy conditions. In Lagos and other Nigerian cities, the problem is an acute lack of water in most food stalls.

Photo: “Street Food Yasothon” by Takeaway/Wikimedia Commons

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Typhoon Noul forces thousands in Philippines to flee

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Typhoon Noul slammed into the northern tip of the Philippines Sunday, triggering warnings of possible flash floods, landslides and storm surges and prompting almost 3,000 people to flee their homes.

The storm hit Cagayan province late Sunday afternoon and was expected to move north towards Japan, the government weather station said.

The civil defence office said there were no immediate reports of storm-related deaths but the typhoon knocked out power in much of the province, making it difficult to get data.

Meteorologists said Noul’s move-ment slowed slightly before reaching the Philippines, but it also strengthened to pack gusts of 220 kilometres (137 miles) per hour.

In Taiwan, authorities warned sailors of strong winds and high waves and evacuated almost 1,000 tourists from an island off the southeast coast.

“This is a very dangerous storm. It is the strongest so far this year,” said Rene Paciente, head of the Philippines’ marine weather divi-sion.

Photo: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

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Nepal must make risk reduction a priority

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There has never been any doubt that Nepal is sitting on one of the most seismically active areas in South Asia. The fact that, when the big one struck, damages and deaths would be catastrophic has been known for years.

Indeed, when this correspondent visited Nepal several years ago, and found himself climbing up the nar-row, winding stairwell of the Nepal Red Cross Society office in Kath-mandu, a poster on one of the doors demanded a close read: “Kathman-du Valley is most vulnerable during an earthquake,” the sign said.

“One study has shown than in case of an earthquake, 40,000 people may die, 95,000 persons may be seriously injured and 60 percent of houses will be totally destroyed.”

Looking out of the window at the densely populated hillsides, dotted with three-storey concrete struc-tures hugging each other in the jam-packed metropolis, it was clear the warnings were not hyperbolic.

Little over a month before the mas-sive earthquake struck on Apr. 25, Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Nepal’s minister for foreign affairs, warned the world yet again of what was to come.

“It is […] estimated that the human losses in the Kathmandu Valley alone, should there be a major seis-mic event, will be catastrophic,” he told the United Nations World Con-ference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, in March.

Horrifyingly, his words were prophet-ic of the tragedy that unfolded not long after.

Photo: “Nepal Earthquake 2015 08” by Krish Dulal/Wikimedia Commons

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Asian cities consider floating cities in the wake of rising sea levels

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Asian cities threatened by rising tides or simply out of space are eyeing a novel solution: floating real es-tate. Shiwen Yap writes for Deal Street Asia that Bang-kok, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City are among the places studying the idea. All three must contend with increased flooding linked to climate change.

Another city that may be interested is Singapore. The tiny island nation is so short on land that some compa-nies and citizens are relo-cating across the border in Malaysia. Among the ad-vantages of floating urban districts: prime waterfront lo-cations and immunity from floods.

Yap is an ambassador for The Seasteading Institute, a Singapore-based organiza-tion that promotes floating metropolises. The institute, which counts Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel among its supporters, is hopeful that the world’s first water-borne urban community would be operational by 2020. Click here for details about the institute’s Float-ing City Project.

Photo: “1 Singapore flyer view 2012” by chensiyuan/Wikimedia Commons

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Birmingham’s bike-share to incorporate electric-assist bikes

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When Birmingham rolls out its new bike-share program this fall, it will be the first in North Ameri-ca to incorporate electric-assist bikes into its fleet. The program will launch in the city’s downtown core with 40 docking stations and 400 bikes, 100 of which will have battery-powered pedal assis-tance.

Quebec-based manufacturer Bewegen is building the bike fleet and docking stations for Birming-ham. Their pedal-assist electric bikes (the industry calls them pedelec) have a motor that kicks in au-tomatically when the user pedals making it possi-ble to ride up hills with the same effort it takes to ride on a flat road. Birmingham is the first U.S. city to contract with Bewegen, which was founded last year. They have one other pilot program in Portu-gal.

“We wanted to reduce the barriers to access for elderly people, people who are obese, people who had knee surgery or something. Anyone who still needs a little assistance, but wants access to bikes,” says Lindsey West, director of REV Bike-Share, the nonprofit in charge of Birmingham’s program.

As is standard, Birmingham bike-share will of-fer day passes and monthly and annual mem-berships. Users can ride for 30 minutes before incurring additional charges. The pedelecs will help extend the distance people can cover in that 30-minute period.

Bike-share programs in Spain, Italy, Germany and Sweden already use pedelec bikes in their fleets. American bike-share programs have talked about the possibility of electric-assist bikes for years, but have shied away from the cost and added operational challenges. Holly Houser, executive director of Seattle’s Pronto bike-share, says the upfront cost and the potential added cost and headache of getting the bikes back to charging stations every day keeps them from pursuing electric assist for now.

Photo: UN Photo/JC McIlwaine

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Valencia focuses onpedestrian safety

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Valencia’s city council has expanded walking paths and reduced speed limits on roads to increase pedes-trian safety and accessibil-ity to neighbouring villages.

The new pedestrian infra-structure, in the coastal area of El Saler, includes a new network of pedestrian routes covering 2.6km and 32 new pedestrian cross-ings.

A further 85 parking spac-es have also been created and the speed limits on one-lane roads have been reduced to 30km/h.

The municipality has also widened pedestrian paths on many roads by convert-ing lanes for traffic into walkways.

Different parking rules are also marked by a colour-coded system on the boundaries between the road and pavement.

New luminescent road markings and reflective road studs will improve visibility for drivers driving at night. This also reduces the need for electric light-ing, therefore reducing the environmental impact and energy consumption.

Photo: “Orxata booth in the streets of Valencia” by Constantin Groß/Wikimedia Commons

NB: Press Cutting ServiceThe Urban Gateway culls articles from daily press coverage from around the world. These

articles are posted on the Urban Gateway by way of keeping all users informed about matters of interest. The opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and in no way

reflects the opinion of UN-Habitat Photo: UN Photo/ Evan Schneider